Musings on Mankind

And so, my brain thought and thought some more:

I came across a great quote the other day, one in which Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this happen?"(regarding Katrina). Anne Graham replied, "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?"

And I thought to myself all the monotonous, un-original complaints against a God and the American Government when anything bad happens- and the misplaced blame involved as well. If American doesn't go to war (at all or not when the populace demands it- i.e. WWII just one example) there is an uproar and America calls its government unfeeling, unpatriotic and selfish and demands action. When America does go to war in response to a current issue (i.e. Iraq) we're suddenly intolerant, inpatient intruders, and are needlessly wasting American lives. Mantras of "GET OUT" and "GET IN" juxtapose throughout modern American history. Food for thought, I say, and this is what else I say-

What does this sound like to you? A country, a group of people (or mankind in general?) who, when faced with tragedy, tyrannical consequence, and disaster quote the overused phrase, "How could God let this happen?" or for those who mock the Father, "How could your God let something like this happen if there was a God?" But I find it sublimely ironic, even hypocritical, that we blame an unseen deity for the worst in life- but when accomplishment occurs?

We unhesitatingly take all the credit, all the praise, all the award, all of it. Found a cure for a disease? Credit goes to man. Nobel prize, peace prizes, Medals of Honor, Acknowledgement and Public Media Coverage. Who has ever awarded God with one of these prizes? I would venture to say, none. A small child is saved from a fire? Man took the risk and saved a life. Humanitarian Aid to a floundering country? Oh well, of course we help our fellow man, and the economy soars. The point is, it's ME ME ME and I I I. We could never accredit the joy, peace, and miraculous to an unseen Deity, but we certainly can blame Him for everything else.

Again, what does this sound like? It sounds like a teenager. Is mankind, then, America perhaps, only in it's adolescence? It seems obvious to me that this is indeed true. Taking the credit for anything good (whether deserved or not), blaming everything terrible on someone else, having no patience to see anything through after it had been decided, and not trusting your elders and those who have gone before. When everything is about me, when everything is selfish and it's all about self-survival and self-fulfillment. The stage where, biologically, chemically, and psychologically you are unable to function at an adult level. Your cerebral cortex is not clicking and connecting as it should, the nerves are firing but not quite reaching their potential. You remember the days when you knew your parents knew nothing. And then you certainly remember the day when you realized that they know everything. And that they were almost always right. That they indeed understood life, and saw the greater picture, and that almost everything they did was to benefit not themselves- but you.

America, Mankind needs to see that it's parent, it's Father- because He loves His children, will indeed honor free agency and will listen when told by His angry teenager to "Get out of my room!" I do not doubt that He respects our requests, our space, and our choices- whether He agrees or not. Now that, my friends, is someone we should be more like.